María Pilar Solsona Lambán

After her religious profession, Sister María Pilar made several stays in France (notably in Le Puy in 1910, 1921, and 1929) in order to perfect her mastery of the French language. From 1910 to 1916, she taught at the Calasanz College in Zaragoza, dedicating herself particularly to boarding students. She then held the position of mistress of novices (juniores) from 1916 to 1921. In 1923, she was appointed superior of the Calasanz College, then became in 1925 the first superior of the Pompiliano College in Zaragoza.

In March 1931, she actively participated in the missionary expansion of her congregation by leaving to found the first house of the Escolapias in Argentina. Arriving in Buenos Aires on March 24, 1931, alongside the provincial superior, Mother Paz de Moraza, she settled in Córdoba. There, she directed the local community and taught French. From 1934 to 1941, she assumed the position of first vicar of the new vicariate of Argentina.

Recalled to Spain in 1941, she was elected provincial superior of Aragon, a function she held for twelve years (1941-1953). Under her mandate, she actively supported the development of the province's educational works, notably the foundation of the Logroño College (Colegio Escolapias Sotillo) in 1943. From 1953 to 1959, she was appointed assistant general (general consultant) of the congregation in Rome.

After completing her terms of government within the institute, she made brief stays in Narbonne (France) and Andéraz (Spain) before retiring permanently in 1960 to the college in Logroño. It was in this community that she passed away on November 20, 1966.

Her reputation for holiness led to the opening of her cause for beatification in Zaragoza in 1991. The diocesan inquiry into her life and virtues took place from April 30, 1991, to November 28, 1992. The validity of this inquiry was recognized by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on December 3, 1993, paving the way for the drafting of the Positio, which was published in Rome in 1995.

On December 10, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI authorized the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to promulgate the decree recognizing the heroic nature of her virtues. By this act, María Pilar Solsona Lambán was officially declared venerable, a major first step toward her future beatification.

The spirituality of María Pilar of the Sacred Heart is deeply marked by her filial love for the Virgin Mary, under the title of Our Lady of the Pillar (Virgen del Pilar), patroness of her hometown. An outstanding educator, she left the memory of a religious sister of great refinement of mind, combining pedagogical firmness and profound kindness. She also recorded her spiritual reflections in several writings, notably her Thoughts (Pensamientos) and a Commentary on the Our Father (Comentario al Padrenuestro).

Her mortal remains rest today in the chapel of the Escolapias Sotillo school in Logroño, the institution she had helped to found and where she spent the last years of her life.